Burkhalter tops Richardson in campaign fund-raising

Rep. Mark Burkhalter (right), not House Speaker Glenn Richardson, appears to be the Georgia Legislature’s top campaign fund-raiser for 2009.

The Johns Creek Republican, who serves as speaker pro tem, collected $94,250 in campaign funds for the first six months of 2009, state records show. Richardson reported raising $88,150 in the same period.

Other top fund-raisers in the Legislature for 2009:

$84,961, Sen. Don Balfour, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee

$76,081 Sen. Chip Rogers, Senate majority leader

$75,417 Rep. Ben Harbin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee

$52,863 Sen. Tommie Williams, president pro tem of the Senate

$40,050 Rep. Earl Ehrhart, chairman of the House Rules Committee

$34,065 Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, Senate majority whip

Campaign finance records for most elected officials in Georgia were due Tuesday. They must report contributions and spending again at the end of December.

What is interesting about these contributions is that it they are arriving a year and a half before there is any election. The top seven in the list are not likely to have any election challenge, even when 2010 comes. (Three of them had no opponent in 2008. The other four had only token opposition.) Each maintains a huge war chest carried over from past elections.

So why the big bucks coming in early for election expenses that will likely never be incurred? The answer is simple. The donors want access to the power, and these insiders want to build up a financial juggernaut that will discourage any viable opponent from challenging them. Many of these dollars end up being passed on to the party or other candidates. Not a pretty picture! There just might be a better way to finance campaigns. Do you think?